New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has launched her election tour of the country from her parents’ home in rural Waikato so her “folks” can babysit.
The rescheduled general election, now to take place on Oct. 17, is unlike any the country has seen before, with party leaders hitting the campaign trail in masks and practicing social distancing.
However, Ardern has taken the air of novelty one step further by starting her tour with a sleepover at her parents’ house in Morrinsville, a farming town.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Speaking from the back of a van, Ardern said she decided to stay in Morrinsville with “Mum and Dad” so they could help out with her toddler, Neve, while she toured the district, including visiting the site of last year’s devastating volcanic eruption.
Ardern shared a selfie of herself working at a modest desk in her parents’ home, with a cassette player visible in the background.
“I’ve been basing myself out of Morrinsville, which is where I grew up so that I can stay with Mum and Dad,” the prime minister said in an Instagram video.
“Because they are helping [fiance] Clarke [Gayford] and I with Neve over the next couple of days — it’s just the realities of the road,” she said.
The general election, already pushed back a month after an outbreak of COVID-19 in Auckland, is shaping up to be defined by pandemic concerns regarding healthcare, border security and economic recovery.
Two referendum questions will be on the ballot papers, asking Kiwis to vote yes or no on whether to legalize cannabis and medical euthanasia.
The perennial issues of housing, the environment and child poverty will also be on the agenda, but to a lesser extent than in past decades.
Ardern’s Labour Party is widely touted by political analysts to win, perhaps with a majority, meaning they would not need to form any uneasy coalition alliances.
Ardern’s down-to-earth approach to politics has won her many fans, with recent polling showing that the Labour Party is a long ahead of the opposition to win the election.
On the eve of the country’s lockdown, Ardern recorded a live question and answer session in her tracksuit after putting Neve to bed, urging New Zealanders to stay strong, be kind and look after each other through the ordeal.
Responding to Ardern’s Instagram post, many New Zealanders addressed the prime minister as “aunty” — a term of endearment and respect in the country.
It is not the first time Ardern’s parents have featured in the public eye.
Ardern’s father, Ross, is a diplomat for the New Zealand foreign service and has previously said he and his wife were keen to support their daughter and her young family in whatever way they could, as she juggled motherhood and managing New Zealand.
Ardern’s mother, Laurell, has been publicly thanked before — after making breakfast for her daughter pre-dawn at the height of the pandemic.
Ardern’s parents were in her “bubble” throughout lockdown.
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